Immigrants founded our country. Immigrants birthed the next generation of Americans. Chinese immigrants built the railroads, and Mexican immigrants who escaped poverty built the farms.
Many died to come to America, but millions still took a chance. Why?
Hope.
Hope is why America is the epicenter of immigration.
Hope is what Shyamala Harris had when she immigrated from India to pursue her dream of being a doctor. Hope is what Kamala Harris had when she decided to become a prosecutor, protecting her community and upholding her ideals.
Hope is what Kamala Harris instilled in black and Indian girls when she became Vice President of the United States. And hope is what Kamala Harris aims to spark for a more inclusive democracy.
Our President being a Black and Indian woman would speak volumes to American representation in government according to 12th grader Keiko Rakin. Rakin is a Black East Asian student at Alhambra High School, who noted she was excited to see Black and Asian girls like her grow up with a president who looked like them. She adds that Harris’s presidency would show minorities around the nation that despite their differences, they belong in the country their ancestors helped build.
“A lot of times in media, news, TV shows, movies like everywhere you don't see a lot of Blasian people, or [in most cases], mixed race people are identified or stereotyped as their whole personality being about their race, which is not true,” Rankin said. “And so it's inspiring to see someone who can lead the country, and whose morals and values I align with, be able to represent [our country], especially as the first woman president. And being biracial, you have a unique perspective on the world, and hopefully, she can bring that perspective to help others.”
The United States Senate from Wikimedia Commons
Much of the working class is made up of immigrants, and Kamala Harris is one of the few people in the White House who can personally connect with that. Coming from the working class, Harris understands what it is like to be around parents who work for everything they have.
During an interview with Indian actress and writer Mindy Kaling, Harris and Kaling retold their childhood and unpacked stories about their shared family traditions and customs.
“Your mom worked and my mom worked, and what's interesting about Indian women of a certain generation is you had to do both,” Kaling said. “I mean, my mom would wake up at five in the morning before she went to the hospital to see patients and she would cook food for the whole week. And so some food that was cooked for dinner was cooked at 6 am and then she would leave and then all of our food was cooked. And it was that kind of a thing that was completely normal when you're the children of professional immigrants.”
The United States Senate from Wikimedia Commons
So few presidents have lived the hard and stressful life of an American immigrant; however, Kamala Harris is a direct product of one. To be a product of an immigrant is to be a product of the American dream, the product of hope.
Along with being South East Asian, Kamala Harris is also a Black woman from Oakland California. Being black and from a rougher part of California, Harris grew up seeing injustice, especially towards minorities.
“I did not learn the flaws of the criminal justice system in law school or college or by reading about it. I grew up knowing the flaws and how it was disproportionately impacting the Black community. It's not academic for me,” Harris said during an interview with Evan Smith at the 2020 South by Southwest (SXSW) festival.
The United States Senate from Wikimedia Commons
Having our next President make legislation on issues she saw firsthand allows for a greater sense of empathy and compassion when passing laws that affect underprivileged communities. Many women who lived in those communities before Harris didn’t live long enough to see a Black woman on the presidential ballot, but their contributions to our country are still invaluable nonetheless according to Harris. Harris shed light on the issue further during the Black Women Leaders: Changing the Future” event held on March 8, 2022.
“Women who fought and sacrificed so much for equality and liberty and justice for all, including Black women who are often, too often overlooked, but so often prove they are the backbone of our democracy,” Harris said.
According to the Chicago Tribune, influential Black women have helped shape American history into a more equitable and diverse society. Throughout the years, Black women have played a crucial role in social and political movements, whether it be their major involvement in the Black Panther Party or the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Harris is no different.
Her presidency would culminate all the hard work Black and Asian women have devoted towards progress and equality. Most importantly, Harris’s victory has the opportunity to offset inclusion and diversity within U.S. politics. For politically inclined student Rakin, it’s hopeful to have someone who looks like her in politics.
“I look up to her. I think she's amazing. I like the stuff that she does, but hopefully, people will be more accepting, and I know that the workforce is getting more diverse, which is awesome.
I don't think it's necessarily paving the way for me, but I think it's definitely given me some motivation that someone like me could make it that far. I think that's awesome,” Rakin said.
The White House from Wikimedia Commons
Kamala Harris being biracial doesn’t mean that she has to choose between two sides of her family tree. Rather, it allows the potential president of the United States to represent a broader community of Americans. Harris gives representation to immigrants, Asians, first-generation Americans, and the African American community.
All of these are groups and communities that have helped build and make America the country it is today. Harris’s presidency would bring together and unite minority groups that have been waiting to see themselves in the President of the United States for generations.
If Harris wins it will be by no mistake, but fate and hope. After all, Kamala Harris didn’t just “fall out of a coconut tree;” she exists in the context of all in which she lived and what came before her.
